Another simple Saturday morning in a routine GS round. I was all alone that Saturday, and looking forward to a lunch date with old friends whom I haven’t caught up with in a while.

Before I could even leave for my lunch date, disaster struck. 2 of my patients took a turn for the worse – frantic resuscitation, phone calls, and reviews later, I was sending her down to the SICU for close monitoring. And before I could catch my breath – another phone call, and another desaturation. More frantic scurrying around, and a chest tube inserted in the middle of the high D unit. And all that’s without accounting for my other changes.

Frazzled, harried, and flustered – the last thing I needed was a phone call asking why I was late for lunch.

“Eh, why are you late again?”

“I’m saving lives lah!” Click.

Ok, so hanging up on the other party wasn’t exactly the most polite thing to do.

**********

Sitting in the calm solitude of my living room this rainy Saturday evening – those simple 2 words seem to echo around me. How many of us have gone down this road of being jaded, weary and worn?

As Matthew 11:28 goes, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

For many of us, our hospital work lives revolve around doing changes for the patient.

Have you ever stopped, if just for a moment, to consider the real effect your actions are having for your patients?
Have you ever paused, if just for a heartbeat, to ponder the importance of your work?
And have you ever taken a step back, and appreciated the good work you are really doing for our sick charges?

If you ever need a recharge – here it is, 2 words. We are saving lives daily.

Never doubt that.

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Dr's Blog

Dr’s Blog is a feature of the CMG web site that aims to encourage interaction between Guild members. We hope to foster a spirit of community through the sharing of thoughts and personal experirences. The opinions expressed in these blogs are entirely those of the contributors and not of the Catholic Medical Guild of Singapore.

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